Our Origin
The Irene W. & C.B. Pennington Foundation was established in 1982 by its namesakes, Claude B. “Doc” Pennington and his wife, Irene Wells Pennington. But the roots of Louisiana’s largest family foundation reach back to the turn of the last century, when this state’s storied wildcatters first began pulling oil up from under the cotton and rice fields.
That was the era in which young Claude Pennington grew up, and he dreamed of being one of them.
He was born in Chunky, Mississippi in 1900. The boy’s father moved the family to Louisiana to operate an eye and ear clinic and pharmacy in the small town of Elton, not far from Jennings. Elton was also not far from Louisiana’s first oil strike, discovered in the Mamou Prairie a year after Claude was born.
Caught up in Louisiana’s black gold rush, Pennington was fascinated by this new industry suddenly booming in his own backyard. During summer breaks from college, he worked as a roughneck on oil rigs. Though restless to hunt for his own oil strike, Pennington paused and instead followed his father’s cautious advice: he set up practice as an optometrist at a clinic. People began calling him “Doc.”
But Pennington never lost his youthful passion for the oil business and its promise of a modern, prosperous Louisiana in the 20th century. He went on to buy and sell gas leases for Shell, Texaco, and other major oil companies before finally taking the wildcatter’s leap and starting his own business, Pennington Oil Company.
In the 1950’s, Doc Pennington took an interest in Mount Pleasant Plantation—around 2000 acres of riverfront property in rural East Baton Rouge Parish. Based on a little research and a big hunch, Pennington believed that there was oil under the neglected farmland. So he traveled to Chicago to meet the landowner in hopes of leasing the mineral rights. Instead, Pennington ended up buying the entire piece of land, along with his only son, C.B. Pennington Jr. Together, they paid $400,000 to purchase Mount Pleasant in 1957.
It proved to be the best investment that Doc Pennington ever made. Pennington Oil made a fortune, and the family’s generosity with it contributed to the health and welfare of millions of people worldwide.
It happened in 1975. While drilling a well near False River, Chevron discovered a rich mineral layer three miles underground. Mount Pleasant sat right above it—an untapped stretch of oil that spanned throughout a sizable share of South Louisiana. Two years later, Amoco recognized the potential in Pennington’s prospect and drilled a well north of the plantation. It struck one of the largest oil and gas finds in U.S. history.
In his mid-70’s by this time, Doc’s wildcatting wins had placed him and his wife, Irene, among the wealthiest families in the nation.
They vowed to share their success with the world. But how?
Claude B. “Doc” Pennington and wife, Irene, at the 1982 groundbreaking for Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Their $125 million gift to LSU was the largest to a university at that time.
The couple’s granddaughter, Paula, recalls how they found their focus on improving people’s health and nutrition.
“Dr. Allen Copping, president of the LSU System at the time, met with my grandfather about making a donation. But he didn’t know exactly what would be of interest to Doc,” she explains. “Looking around my grandfather’s office, Dr. Copping noticed bottles of vitamins and learned of Doc’s lifelong interest in nutrition.”
In 1982, Doc and Irene donated $125 million to LSU for the creation of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. At the time, it was the largest gift to a university.
“The Louisiana soil and what’s beneath it have been good to me,” Doc Pennington told the New York Times. He said the couple wanted the money to be used to build on that soil “the country’s biggest and best nutrition and preventive medicine center.”
The groundbreaking drew reporters from around the world. At the event, Copping said, “Few persons in history have an opportunity to change human events for millions for the better. And fewer still avail themselves of this opportunity. Doc and Mrs. Pennington did so.”
“My grandparents were visionaries. But they never could have envisioned the way Pennington Biomedical Research Center has made a difference in the lives of people in our state, throughout the nation, and across the globe.”
Pennington Biomedical now is at the forefront of understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia.
In 1997, Doc passed away at the age of 97. In her own 97th year, Irene Pennington became the oldest new member in the history of the Forbes’ Four Hundred. She took control of the $600 million Pennington fortune and smartly reinvested it by the time she reached her 100th birthday.
The Penningtons were always active in their grandchildren’s lives, but they grew even closer following the tragic death of their son, Claude B. Pennington Jr.—Paula’s father—in an oilfield accident. Left alone to raise three children under the age of four, Paula’s mother appreciated the tremendous help that Doc and Irene provided.
“My grandparents were always there for us,” says Paula. “My grandmother was very hands-on in our lives. She was a very special lady—my guardian angel.”
One evening, at the dinner table, Doc posed a question to his grandchildren: “What do you want to do to help people when you grow up?”
The question framed the rest of Paula’s life. Even at that young age, she understood from her grandfather’s words that a meaningful life is one spent helping others.
“I said I wanted to be a nurse,” Paula recalls. After earning a bachelor’s degree in science from Southeastern University, she became a nurse who taught prenatal Lamaze and exercise classes.
To generate additional funds for the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and other philanthropic projects, Doc established the Penningtons’ private family foundation in 1982 and asked Paula to serve on the board. Doc’s grandchildren became trustees of the family foundation, enabling them to begin granting for causes on their own.
The family foundation awarded, on average, more than $8 million per year on an asset base of about $150 million. Driving around South Louisiana, it’s easy to see the good accomplished through this generosity.
Grants paid to build the planetarium at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum, the Pennington Cancer Center, and the Emerge Center, which offers therapies for children on the spectrum.
The Pennington family’s philanthropic causes are focused but varied. Along with health and nutrition, for example, the Penningtons aid first responders, fire departments, public safety offices, and justice agencies working to keep people safe and secure. They provide support for nonprofits that bolster our quality of life, like the Baton Rouge Symphony’s “Great Performers in Concert Series” and Girls on the Run— a program for young athletes started locally by the Foundation’s President and CEO, Lori Bertman.
The Pennington Biomedical Research Center remains a top priority of giving, with Doc and Irene’s grandchildren continuing to contribute from their own good fortune.
“My grandparents were visionaries,” Paula says. “But they never could have envisioned the way Pennington Biomedical Research Center has made a difference in the lives of people in our state, throughout the nation, and across the globe.”
In 2023, Paula, Claude and Daryl started their own foundations from the family foundation, continuing a legacy of giving that was seeded by their grandparents.